Future Thames : applied geoscience for decision-making in London and the Thames Basin

The Thames Basin is the UK’s principal aquifer. It encompasses London, which is Europe’s largest megacity, and has an extensive coastal zone. It presents a unique conjunction of geological, hydrogeological, environmental, and socio-economic factors that are intrinsically linked by the effects of environmental change. The British Geological Survey (BGS) is responding to this challenge through its FutureThames initiative. FutureThames aims to initiate, facilitate and support interdisciplinary and collaborative geoscience research in an attempt to understand the effects of environmental change in the Thames Basin. Such collaboration will assist in providing ‘real world’ responses to different ‘what if’ scenarios, such as “What will happen to groundwater if a new housing estate is built here?” Or “How will sea-level rise affect my property?” Six key environmental challenges have been identified to provide a framework to focus our research activities in the region

Biosphere mapping : the next phase

The current strontium (Sr) isotope biosphere variation map of Britain (Fig. 1) has been well used (114 citations in 5 years). It allows the user to identify which out of seven spatial domains a sample most strongly resembles with respect to strontium isotopes. It has enabled archaeologists to look at movement and migration on people and fauna across Britain, and to highlight individuals who may have originated outside Britain

BGS GeoSure 5 km Hex Grids

An introduction to the new Open Government Licence BGS 5km Hex Grid datasets, demonstrating their aesthetic appeal and informational versatility through illustrating three levels of GeoSure Shrink-Swell susceptibility in relation to population density across Great Britain, in 3D

The use of volcanic facies as tools for reconstructing former eruptive environments at Nevados de ChillaÌn volcano, Chile

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Modelling the quality of sand and gravel resources in 3D

The construction industry is a critical sector of the UK economy and natural aggregates, such as crushed rock, sand and gravel, are the most commonly used construction minerals. Demand for aggregates will continue into the future and this demand will primarily be met by indigenous production. However, minerals can only be worked where they occur and with increasing pressure on land use, it is important that mineral resources are identified and appropriately safeguarded. It is imperative that we understand how these deposits are distributed not just on the surface but also underground (Figure 1). Whilst 2D mineral resource data is proving invaluable in assisting planners, developers and industry in landuse planning and decision-making, it does come with limitations, such as being unable to depict the internal variation in the quality of the deposit with depth or provide an indication of the ratio of mineral to waste. Such information is essential when assessing the economic viability of extraction and, within BGS, 3D modelling techniques are being used to address these issues

Palaeoenvironment reconstruction, volcanic evolution and geochronology of the Cerro Blanco subcomplex, Nevados de Chillan volcanic complex, Central Chile

Nevados de Chillán Volcanic Complex, central Chile, has been active for at least 640 ka—a period spanning a number of glacial and interglacial periods. Geologic mapping, radiometric dating and geochemical analysis have identified six new volcanic units and produced four new 40Ar/39Ar ages for Cerro Blanco, the northern subcomplex of Nevados de Chillán volcano. Compositions range from dacite to basaltic-andesite and a new geologic map is presented. Examination of lava fracture structures on both newly mapped lavas and those mapped during previous studies has enabled interpretations of former eruptive environments. Palaeoenvironment reconstructions, combined with 40Ar/39Ar ages and comparison with the marine oxygen isotope record, show that at least three phases of volcanic activity have occurred during the evolution of Cerro Blanco: (1) a constructive, pre-caldera collapse period; (2) a period of caldera formation and collapse; and (3) a constructive period of dome growth forming the modern day volcanic centre. This style of volcanic evolution, whereby large-scale caldera collapse is followed by growth of a new stratocone is common at Andean volcanoes

Spread of the bla(IMP-13) gene in French Pseudomonas aeruginosa through sequence types ST621, ST308 and ST111.

International audienc

Implications for ID practice of instructional designers\u27 cultural identities.

Are there social and political purposes for design that are culturally based? A growing body of research is concerned with the design of culturally-appropriate learning resources and environments, but the emphasis of this panel is on the instructional designer as the agent of the design. Colloquially put, if we design for ourselves, we should understand the sociocultural influences on us and how they inform our practices. We should also develop respect for, and learn from, how various global cultures address similar design problems differently. This panel includes instructional design scholars and practitioners from a range of geopolitical regions, who will share culturally-based narratives and metaphors of ID, and invite participants to do the same.<br /